Wednesday, June 30, 2010

adventures in sinaesthesia: the object of desire

I really like J-lo’s Deseo. I know we are supposed to scorn celebrity fragrances until they convince us otherwise with some exceptional quality or other, but I have liked this fragrance from the get-go.

You know how a pineapple’s acidity makes your tongue tingle in that weird way that only pineapples can accomplish? Well, Deseo makes that same thing happen in my mouth when I smell it—isn’t that strange? It is pineapple on me, but not in a bonne belle type of way. It is pineapple in a difficult, acidic, slightly green, sour sort of way. I really love the composition, actually—lots of painful pineapple sitting atop a lovely chypre structure, with a little green coconut thrown in to make consumers realize (if they haven’t already, the dullards) that it is ‘tropical.’ I don’t think of this as a ‘fruity floral’ at all in fact—more of a sour chypre.

And then, there’s the bottle. I LOOVVEE this bottle. At first, I thought: tacky. Then I thought: hey, it’s kinda cool how it is designed—I love the way the cap fits on. Then I thought: wow, this feels so good when I hold it in my hand. It fits perfectly into my palm, like it's meant to live there. Then I started really fetishizing this bottle, wondering if I could use it for massage, admiring the way its facets caught the light, etc. Then, I noticed how nice it looked in front of a pic of my then-boyfriend (now husband of almost five years!) in a picture I took of him in Mexico. Then I started keeping the two together on my desk, admiring the colors. Then I found myself taking a picture of the bottle sitting on the picture. Then….I started wondering: what’s wrong with me—why am I carrying on in this strange way with a bottle of celebrity perfume?

But honestly, you gotta hold this gem in your hand. If you don’t fall in love, then you must be immune to the elemental pull of enchantingly telluric gems and minerals—Frodo should entrust you with the One Ring, for its charms will be lost on you (LOL!) Ok, I am sounding all kinds of crazy with this post, so I’m gonna cut this party off, finishing with a new adventure:

SO, for this week’s official adventure in sinaesthesia, I suggest you:

spritz on Deseo

put some João Gilberto on the stereo

make yourself a pina colada with real fresh pineapple and unsweetened coconut milk

find a sunny spot near some green plants—make them as tropical looking as possible, please-- spread out a blanket or lawn chair and…

pretend you are a tropical goddess (or god) being waited upon by scores of servants, who only want you to ‘unwind’ for a few hours from your super-intense and successful career.

11 comments:

This was so much fun (and you two look great on that picture). :)Honestly, I don't think I tried anything by J-Lo except the first one (which I can't remember the name now). Hm, I'm not really into chypre, but I do like pineapple and coconut. Since you like it so much, now I have to go and try it.

Wow. Another lemming has sprung! Boo your pics are frikkin adorable <3 Y'all look like a cute Seattlite couple. Even though I know your over there on the East Coast. I dig your sense of humor, were on the same level, I'm sure! All kinds of crazy is my kind of layday :D

I'll have to try this this too, and FYI, I am not immune to the ONE RING to rule them all. Big, giant, huge nerd of Lord of the Rings. And Harry Potter. (books first and foremost!) And even the damn Twilight shit cause I was reading those too before they blew up into a movie phenom. I love magic of all kinds. Me and my hubby loved the books,(J.R.R. Tolkien's) he would read them to me when I was pregnant in bed with my first two girls. Awww that makes us sound sweet and smart.

Were not. I think we just didn't have cable. ha.But good memories indeed.

Very enjoyable post and I love the pineapple picture - made me think of Charleston for some reason. Or should that be palm trees? Anyway, it sparked off a brief vision of antebellum houses.

I too own Deseo and share your love of the scent and the gorgeous jewel-like bottle. I got mine in T K Maxx for £8, which felt good - so good in fact that I custom bought a back up bottle for a friend who likes it too.

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Musing about the Good Life

Welcome to an eclectic world of aesthetic delight! This site explores what it means to prioritize a life lived sensually, with an emphasis on that most neglected of faculties, smell. Here you'll find perfume reviews and musings, recipes, bookish thoughts, and rhapsodies on all things that fill our lives with art in little, yet important, ways.